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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · cap · dip · bark · ruler · straw · branch · land

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. cold — not warm
  4. dip — to sink
  5. land — a country
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cap — of ice
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. cap — a hat
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. cap — a lid
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. branch — a division

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com